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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1866.PDF
FLIGHT. 10 November 1949 NEW HOME FOR C.U.A.S Chief 0/ Air Staff Speaks as a Cambridge Man ON Sunday, November 6th, the new headquarters of theCambridge University Air Squadron were officially opened by the Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the Royal Air ForceLord Tedder. The squadron's first headquarters were built at Fen Cause-way on land belonging to the Engineering School, which was let to the Air Ministry for a rental of £r per annum, and here thesquadron stayed for 23_ years. After the war, however, the faculty required room to expand the Engineering School, andlong notice was given to the squadron. This, in fact, was twice extended, but when the time came to vacate the headquarters,no alternative accommodation had been found, and from May, 1948, until September 20th this year, the Unit was lodged onNo. 5 Reserve Centre at Cambridge Airport. The present head- quarters property at No. 3, Chaucer Road, were bought at thebeginning of this last summer term, but were in such a very poor state of repair that it has taken until the beginning of thepresent academic year to get the place in order. Squadron members have worked mightily at clearing and restoring thegarden from the virtual jungle that it had become. Now, how- ever, clean, new-painted, orderly and attractive, the head-quarters are a fit establishment for the pioneer of the Univer- sity Air Squadrons. Lord Tedder spoke more as a Cambridge man than as theC.A.S. in his address, and recollected that it was almost exactly 40 years since he himself had come up as a freshman. He alsoremarked that being the first University Air Squadron in this country and, therefore, in the world, meant quite a bit. Itwas not for nothing that Cambridge had the reputation of leading the world not only in science, but in poetry; it was apeculiar combination, but there was a good deal of poetry in aviation as well as technology. Lord Tedder also mentioned,quietly and almost with sly humour, that of the five present members of the Air Council, two were Cambridge men: it wasworth bearing in mind. The Vice-Chancellor, in explaining why the opening cere-mony had been delayed by 15 minutes, succeeded in making a happy allusion. He had been assisting at Great St. Mary'sin the annual service of commemoration for the University benefactions through the centuries. Dr. Roberts told theassembly that he had himself lived some years ago in Chaucer Road, and could assure them that a very respectable road itwas; he also remembered that, in 1940, he had assisted in dig- ging a tank-trap across that very garden. He agreed whole-heartedly with Lord Tedder's remarks regarding the humanistic side of aviation, and joined the C.A.S. in wishing the establish-ment all prosperity and success. Lord Tedder then presented the Forder Finlay Cup for thebest all-round Class iA cadet of the year to Cadet Pilot B. Plenderleith, and then presented the Squadron Shooting Cupto P/O. R. H. Walkington. On behalf of the squadron, W/C. C. H. Simpson, the Com-manding Officer, then thanked Lord Tedder and presented him and Lady Tedder with mementoes of the occasion. - •. NOCTURNAL CROP SPRAYING FOR the first time, crop-spraying by night has been carriedout by Pest Control, Ltd., in the Sudan'. Against the bright starlit sky of the million-acre Cezira plain (writes a correspondent) the spraying helicopter appears in the distance as an even brighter and multi-coloured star. As it approaches one sees the silvery shape of the rotor disc, tinted by the red and green navigation lights (for even in that remote spot the law is observed), the spray-bar tip lights, and the landing lights—only one of which is used during spraying. Added to these is the blue flame of the exhaust, all reflected against the fuselage, with other reflections coming up from the sand when the machine flies low. The helicopter appears to be tailless, only the rotor and main fuselage being visible in the darkness. On the ground the "flagmen " indicate the spray-path by torches, and beyond them are the lights of the tankers. Ten miles or more away across the vast flat plain can be seen the lights of tractor-drawn machines operating in other areas. Night spraying is necessary because, in spite of a daybreak start with pre-dawn preparations, spraying time is limited to the cooler hours. Long before and after noon the air is too thin to enable the helicopter to carry a useful load. Spraying is resumed in the late afternoon and continues when night falls sharply at six, though not for many hours, since there is such a thing as pilot fatigue. James Harper, A.F.C., Pest Control's chief pilot, prefers to do the job himself for the present. He makes vertical landings by the light of the tankers' headlights. These land- ings are a little tricky, for the sand throws up reflections which make height-judging difficult. Turns, which are done over the sand, take a little longer than by daylight. The result is that, instead of spraying 100 acres an hour as by day, only 60 acres an hour can be done at night, but it is nevertheless a valuable contribution to the total work to be done. The crop being sprayed is cotton, and the insect being attacked is the cotton jassid, which is very prevalent this year owing to lack of rain. It succumbs to a D.D.T. spray. The machine used is the Westland Sikorsky with Pratt and Whitney engine. The spray-bars, originally in front, have been moved aft, and the auxiliary engine to drive the spray pump is mounted under the nose. GUILD CEREMONIAL T ONDONDERRY House was the sceneJ—' of the annual Installation Ceremony of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navi-gators of the British Empire last Friday evening, November 4th. It was mainlya quite informal, domestic party, but appropriately there were a few seriousminutes when everyone assembled in the library for the Ceremony of Installationof the Master, Wardens and Court of Assistants. The Clerk called each by name, theChaplain led prayers, then first the Master, W/C. C. A. Pike, A.F.C., andafterwards the wardens (Messrs. Cum- ming, Chichester, Jenkins, Stone andTyson, together with Marshals of the Royal Air Force Sir John Salmond andLord Newall) and Assistants of the Court, all made the promise. This im-pressive little ceremony was completed by the blessing from the Chaplain. " Flight" photograph The ceremony at Londonderry House on Friday last. Wardens and Assistants stand after the Master, W/C. Pike had been installed. B 28
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